Marines seek to balance data access, security

Balancing the need to make data accessible to all Marines while ensuring security is a challenge as the Marine Corps shifts to cloud computing, the service's chief cybersecurity officer said Sept. 18.

One of the issues is what Ray Letteer called "shiny object" syndrome; that is, the desire to adopt the newest technology, such as iPads, as quickly as possible. But that technology may not yet be secure for military use.

"We have a lot of people who want things fast, free and now," he told the annual Defense Systems Summit. "My goal is to make it secure ubiquitously."

While transitioning to the new cloud environment, the Marines are standardizing data services and consolidating operations with the goal of having 11 data centers worldwide -- a measure in part designed to make data usage more secure. '

But that also has raised concerns about ensuring data is accessible to forward-deployed Marines when and how they need it. Letteer said the Corps is working on that issue with the goal of ensuring access at the point of need.